


Unbroken

by Indehed



Category: Hawaii Five-0 (2010)
Genre: Episode Tag, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-11-10
Updated: 2014-11-10
Packaged: 2018-02-24 21:47:23
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 5,916
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2597564
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Indehed/pseuds/Indehed
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>He was doing his best, but it had been a long day, starting with human trafficking scum, middling with Steve's kidnap and ending here - beside a hospital bed with Steve's body battered, bruised, bloody, swollen and blessedly unconscious.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Unbeta'd brain splurge following the 100th episode. My brain wanted this to be an epic exploration of Steve's brain (my brain always wants to turn things into epics) but I don't have the time for anything else big and I'll leave the rest for meta.

Danny was tired and in a losing battle with his traitorous eyelids. Sitting in an uncomfortable chair, his head, where it was propped up on his hand, was slowly falling down and he'd jerked himself awake a few times already. He felt just like that kitten falling asleep that Grace had shown him on the internet.

He was doing his best, but it had been a long day, starting with human trafficking scum, middling with Steve's kidnap and ending here - beside a hospital bed with Steve's body battered, bruised, bloody, swollen and blessedly unconscious. 

Seeing Steve in front of him, seeing his chest rise and fall was the important thing right now, and Danny had stared for a long time before his eyes had grown heavy.

Movement out of the corner of his eye caught his attention. 

Chin gave him an apologetic glance, like he was sorry for intruding. "How is he now?"

Danny sighed as he took a proffered cup of bad hospital coffee and looked back at Steve. "In and out. The drugs seem to have done a number on him more than the physical beating."

"Do they know what was used yet?"

Danny shook his head. "Still waiting on the tox screen. But it was definitely hallucinogenic." He turned his head and looked up at a frowning Chin. "He told me he liked my shirt with the flowers on it and missed seeing me in it. I don't own an aloha shirt. Never have. Not even for Halloween."

"Brah, he _must_ be drugged if he thinks you've gone native," Chin tried for a smile as his hand landed on Danny's shoulder but they were, all of them, on the wrong side of tired to put the effort in to any kind of joke. "Maybe you should go home, get some rest. I'm sure he'll still be here in the morning."

Danny caught the knowing tone in Chin's voice. But even the other man knew Danny was going to refuse leaving Steve's side. "Nah, I'm good. Sad to say, I'm getting used to this," he said, remembering a similar vigil after North Korea and Afghanistan. Something he was convinced had been returned after Colombia. 

There was no way Steve had slept that night in the hotel, when Danny had been curled up tightly in bed and Steve had lain unmoving in the other one. Danny hadn't been facing Steve but he knew the other man was right there and waiting for any indication that Danny needed him. It was just how they were with each other when things were bad - they were right there, whatever was needed. Even in the not so bad moments, when Danny would sit with Steve at the back of the house after a case and they'd have a beer and look to the horizon and just know that the support was there, even if all they needed was each others' presence.

It was a part of the intensity in their relationship; a part Danny had never allowed himself to consciously consider but was still hyper aware of. He acknowledged it but didn't give it thought because that would make things complicated and he wasn't ready for complicated.

He grimaced as he took a sip of his coffee then put it aside on the table by him, reaching a warmed hand out to curl lightly around Steve's forearm. "He, uh. He has to stop scaring the shit out of me like this," he heard the crack in his own voice as he spoke, the lump he had to swallow as he thought of the times Steve had been hurt, badly. The times he'd been missing in enemy territory and those were just the times that Danny even knew about. How many times had Steve been hurt or in trouble before they'd met, almost making their chance of meeting never happen?

When Steve had upped and gone to go chase Wo Fat to Japan and had left Danny out of the loop… when he'd gone to North Korea with Jenna… when he'd gone to Afghanistan with Catherine; the feeling of dread, of sickness, of heaviness in Danny's stomach had been some of the worst he'd ever experienced. Today was no exception. He hated that feeling. He never wanted to feel that way again and until he could trust that Steve wasn't going to do something stupid, maybe he'd have to stay right by his side. 

"He loves you, he doesn't do it on purpose. And I think he feels the same way sometimes."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Danny asked, turning back to Chin again.

"You think he invades every aspect of your life because he's bored? Danny, to put it in his terms: he's been gathering intel on you since you met, because the more he knows, the more likely he is to avert any oncoming disasters. You didn't see him when Grace was taken and he couldn't reach you. Or when you were poisoned and rushed to the hospital. He doesn't like it when anomalies catch him off guard. Not with anyone, but especially you."

"Yeah, well," Danny said, unsure how to respond and just filling the silence. 

"When you went home to Jersey for your brother's funeral, he kept track of all your flights and he kept checking his phone for texts or calls. I caught him looking at his watch all the time. You know he reset it for Jersey time rather than Hawaiian? He had to always have something that told him what time of day it was where you were, so he'd know instantly if it was an okay time to call you."

"He did that?" Danny sniffed a little, but hid it as best he could. 

Chin shrugged. "He told me he'd have pulled the trigger. To stop you having to do it."

"That I kind of expected. It is Steve after all." He hadn't told Danny that either, but Danny had known. Had seen it in the sympathy in Steve's eyes after. Had felt it in the hand on his shoulder. Steve didn't need to say anything, Danny just knew that if Steve could have taken the burden he would have. Just like Danny knew that he would have taken the punches, the electric shocks. If it meant one less scar on Steve's body, Danny would take those from him right now and put them on his own.

"So, Kono went to take care of Sang Min. I swear, she enjoys it despite her protests. Grover headed home to see the family. I was going to go see Max about Wo Fat, get his report, but that can wait until morning if you'd like me to stay here with you."

"No, that's okay. The sooner we get this stuff filed away the better. Maybe get it so that Steve doesn't need to see any of it. That would be good," Danny suggested. It wasn't about getting rid of Chin, it was just that he didn't need the company. He had company. He had Steve, even if he was out for the count. That was enough right now. "But don't stay up late. Go home. You need to rest, too. You started earlier than I did today as it was, you must be exhausted as well."

Chin nodded. "Call me if you need anything. I'll come by in the morning."

"Okay," Danny nodded, reaching out a hand to shake Chin's, the hold just that little bit too long but they all needed the affirmation that the team were all okay today and an extra two seconds of grip was not going to be questioned. 

He went back to his vigil. Monitors beeped rhythmically, footsteps occasionally passed quietly by the door and he was aware of his own breathing all while Steve lay still in the bed. He hated that. Steve was rarely still. He was energetic, he was puffed up bluster, he was relaxed and easy charm, he was determined on the hunt, he was a strong and capable leader and through it all he moved. Sometimes jerkily, sometimes smooth and fluid, but stopping was something he only did when he was like this. And Danny was not a fan of this.

And yet, he'd rather Steve sleep through the last of the chemicals in his system; the IV attached to Steve's hand sending the glucose pack through him to flush everything out as quickly as possible. 

It was a long time later that the other man stirred again and despite Danny's drifting mind and heavy eyes, he was up and by his side in a shot at the first groan. 

He placed a hand on Steve's forehead, brushing it down until it cupped just under his cheek. "Hey, buddy. You're alright. It's okay," he said in a quiet murmur of a mantra he'd been keeping up since they'd found Steve in that room.

"Danny?"

"Yeah, I'm right here," he answered, getting Steve's eyes to look in his direction, seeing them looking clearer already, more lucid than the times before when Steve had woken confused and partly stuck in some other imagined world. All Danny could work out was that he'd thought his father was still alive, that Chin was a Captain at HPD and that he and Danny had been hunting Wo Fat down together. Oh yeah, and the aloha shirt.

Steve breathed shallowly and looked around himself and then down to his injured body, once again taking stock of what had happened to him. "Wo Fat's dead."

"Yeah, he's dead. You got him, Steve."

"We're in the hospital."

"That's right. You're fine, you're gonna be fine, but you gotta stay here a little bit longer, okay? The doctors have been running tests and things and they need to know that what he did to you will heal properly."

"I'm fine," Steve shook as he said it, but there was a determination there.

"I know. I know that. But you're no doctor so you and I, we're going to listen to them and do what they say. For once. Please."

"What time is it?" Steve looked around again but his eyes always found their way back to Danny's quickly.

"I don't know. It's the middle of the night anyway."

"You should go home. Get some sleep," Steve told him, but Danny scoffed.

"And leave you on your own here? Not a chance. Someone has to make sure you don't do anything stupid and that's always me. It's my lot in life. Where are you trying to go?" Danny asked as Steve attempted to sit up again. 

"Gotta pee," he said. And it was understandable, the IV had been going into him fast so no wonder he needed to go. Danny did his best to support Steve as he got up. 

"You need help?"

"I can pee," Steve said fast, convincing himself more than anyone else, but Danny was there to support him as they walked over to the bathroom door, IV drip on its wheeled stand screeching behind them. He took Steve all the way in before turning his back. Once Steve was done, he helped him get to the sink to wash his hands, then walked back out with him, hands holding loosely on Steve's elbow and back, guiding him more than anything.

"Thanks, man," Steve said once he was back in the bed, head back, clearly exhausted by a simple bathroom run, but he wasn't going to sleep again yet. 

Danny sat back down on the seat by the bed, it had cooled since he'd been up helping Steve. "You want to talk about it?"

"Not really."

"How about that dream world you were in? The one where you still manage to make me do shit I don't wanna do, like wearing flowers and well, working with you," he tried for a smile but all he got back was a frown. 

"How'd you know about that?"

"The drugs they gave you. We know they made you hallucinate and you've been in and out all night. Sometimes you didn't realize where you were."

"My dad-"

"You remember that he died, right?" Danny broke the news again, carefully. "Four years ago. Victor Hesse."

"Yeah," Steve gave a curt nod and looked away again for a second, before steeling himself to look back at Danny. "My head. It kinda remembers it all both ways for how we started but the other world, it's fading."

"Good. I mean, not good that your dad isn't alive, but good that you're back in the real world. Even if it is pretty shitty to you right now."

"Yeah," Steve cocked an eyebrow. "Things were pretty good in my head."

"I don't believe you. You're head is a scary place, my friend."

"Except it was. Everyone got what they wanted."

"I wanted to wear flowers? If you really think that-"

"You were still married," Steve interrupted him.

"Huh," Danny rubbed his hands together before trapping them between his knees. "You think that would make me happy?"

"I think that's maybe where you started to think things were going wrong so yeah. If you were still married, maybe things would be better."

"No, they wouldn't, trust me," Danny shook his head. "Rachel and I, we had our time. We're better not being married. I'd still be worried something would go wrong someday because that's how I am, and you know that. The only way to make me happily married to Rachel would be to change my personality entirely, and that, my friend, would be a tragedy," he smiled again and Steve's mouth twitched up in response. 

"Like wearing flowers."

"Something like that," Danny nodded, his smile still on his face. "Wait a minute though. If I was married to Rachel, why were we even in Hawaii? I should still be living life to the fullest in Jersey if that were the case."

Steve squirmed a little. "I dunno. You said you liked it here. You liked the beach."

"I liked- well, now I know you were dreaming, buddy."

"You saved my dad," Steve said quietly, eyes back on the ceiling. "I guess I needed you here to do that. You know?" Steve looked back at Danny, eyes soft, in a way that sometimes happened between them but Danny still refused to think about. "If anyone was going to do that, it would be you."

"HPD never made it in time, I don't think any of them could have gone faster," Danny said, taking the compliment and storing it away. "It's not your fault your dad died, or theirs. It's Hesse's. And Wo Fat's."

"I know but, I guess I always wondered if it could have been different if you were there from the start."

"What makes you think I could have saved him?" Danny asked, curiously, genuinely wondering but with a shaky feeling in his gut.

"You do it for me," he answered and waved a hand in the air. "Just did it. Again."

Danny leaned further forward, chair scraping across the floor with him as he reached out and grasped his hand into Steve's. "Hey," he said, looking at their joined hands then up to Steve's eyes, reflecting the softness he still saw there. "So long as you keep making sure you're alive when I get there, I'll make sure I'm first in that door, you hear me?"

"I hear you," Steve smiled and twisted his hand in Danny's grip so that their fingers would interlace. "Love you, man."

"I love you, too, buddy. Now get some sleep, okay? Maybe in the morning we'll be able to get you out of here."


	2. Chapter 2

It was late morning and Steve was in the wheelchair. Instructions had been given to both him and Danny, but Steve hadn't paid a huge amount of attention, whether because of his cockiness over injuries or because he was still somewhat stuck in his mind regardless of the chemicals clearing his system. Danny had paid attention though, fully, completely. Because he was not going to let Steve do anything stupid and he was going to make sure Steve got better as soon as possible and that would only happen if he did as the doctors said. 

Chin met them by the nurse's station, a bag in hand with prescriptions Steve was going to need. He told them that the others were all at HQ finishing up the paperwork on everything to get it out of the way, but that they sent their best. Danny was well aware that, unlike getting a simple (hah, simple) gunshot wound on a case, this wasn't a situation where everyone needed to swarm around Steve to be supportive. He'd been tortured. He needed the freedom to be able to breathe right now, not the reassuring yet stifling smiles of everyone they knew. 

"I can take him home if you'd like," Chin said to Danny. "You still haven't had any decent time to rest or eat. Or shower. And I've told both of you before, you really ought to spend some time apart."

"I can do all of that at Steve's place. I've still got some stuff there and Grace is with Rachel right now, so where else would I be, huh?"

"Fine," Chin held his hands up. "Are you sure?"

"He's sure," Steve butted in from his seat below their eye level. He reached a hand back as they walked and Danny took it in his own and squeezed reassuringly. "He'll be fine, Chin. I'll take care of it."

"You'll take care- Excuse me?" Danny leaned over Steve as he pushed him. "Other way around, buddy."

"Fine, we'll take care of each other," Steve sighed theatrically as he got to his feet and slid into the passenger side of the Camaro.

"That's what you two do best," Chin said cheerily as he took the wheelchair from Danny's hands and waved them away.

Once they were home, Danny helped Steve in, though he was much steadier on his feet already after only 12 or so hours since he'd been hardly able to go to the toilet without support. 

"What do you want to do first? You've got to eat to take these pain pills, but you could sack out on the couch and get this cream on your burns while I order us some food? Or you could just get some more sleep if you'd like."

"I've had enough of sleep and dream worlds for a while. I think I'd prefer to stay in this one," Steve spoke, rather monotone, from his position on the couch. 

"Okay, pizza it is, I'll get the call in," he opened the bag he had and pulled out the tube of ointment, chucking it onto the sofa beside Steve. But when he came back from making his call, it was still where he'd left it and Steve was just idly changing channels on the TV. "Hey, you need to use that."

Steve glanced down at the tube. "Oh, I'll do it later. It's fine right now. Besides, it'll make my shirt stick to me."

"So take it off," Danny said, voice already getting exasperated and they'd only been home fifteen minutes. "Come on, you big baby," he said, clocking Steve's grimace as Danny helped pull the shirt up, seeing the strain on Steve's battered body reflected in his face.

Steve wasn't usually self-conscious. The opposite, in fact. But he had a hard time meeting Danny's gaze once his shirt was off. It was ridiculous. Danny had seen the damage already when they'd rescued him, but now the bruises were fully formed and in glorious technicolor. The burns and prod marks had swollen up to form weird shapes over areas of his chest. There was a gouge taken out of one of his tattoos that he'd probably get fixed if he could once it was healed over. But it was still Steve's strong chest in front of him, it was still-

Danny swallowed and tamped down on his thoughts. Thoughts he, once again, refused to think. 

"Here, let me then," he said as he uncapped the ointment and rubbed some between his fingers to warm it. He was careful as he reached out, unsure of how much of the surface pain was still affecting Steve, and the other man still jerked a little in response to the first touch just below his collar bone. Danny was as careful as he could be, with light touches as he moved the ointment around, letting it cool and soothe and sink in to the wounds. It gave him a chance to see them properly, to know more of the pain Steve had gone through to get them, to map them and know just how much Steve had been through. 

His hand moved lower to each wound and Steve's breathing grew heavier. Danny watched his own hand rise and fall with the movement until he reached the last of the marks, low on Steve's hip and the other man twitched as Danny touched him there, but he didn't pull back from the ministrations.

Danny's eyes had been drawn fully to the task in hand, his mind solely on giving Steve relief and yet when they darted lower, to Steve's pants, he couldn't help but notice the half-hard bulge underneath. He ignored it, to the best of his ability, refused to think, and lifted up. He rubbed his hands together and was careful not to touch the couch or his own clothes, lest he get the oily stickiness onto the material. 

"That's it," he said looking back into Steve's eyes, seeing the softness, some form of understanding that he wasn't going to consider and the hint of a grateful smile. "I'm going to wash my hands before the food arrives."

*

They ate amicably. Steve had yet to put his shirt back on, but seemed more comfortable now without it than he had at first, as if he'd grown used to Danny's gaze - one that was fully on wanting Steve to heal and… nothing else.

Danny had made sure that Steve took some of his painkillers and refused to let him have even a small swig of Danny's beer. Danny had said he could go without but Steve had insisted that he have one. Just because Steve couldn't, didn't mean Danny had to go without.

"Movie?"

"Sure," Danny responded. 

"What do you want to watch?" Steve asked, sitting back, getting himself comfortable and propped up in the corner of the couch. 

"I don't mind so long as it's not the kind of movie a 12 year old girl would enjoy. I get enough of those at home, thanks."

"Hmm," Steve considered. "How about a horror film? I think Child's Play is still sitting over there."

Danny turned more to face Steve from where he was sitting beside him. "Isn't that your Halloween date night movie?"

"So?"

Danny just frowned amusedly as he settled back beside Steve. "I already experienced your moves last Halloween so thanks, but no thanks."

"I'll never see the end of that movie," Steve sighed on a laugh. 

"I'm not even sure I've got the attention span anyway," Danny said as he leaned forward briefly to grab the remote control, checking the on screen TV guide then settling for an old episode of Magnum P.I.

"Maybe you should get some sleep. You can use my bed. I'm fine for the moment."

"I'm good here," Danny said. "Gotta take care of you," he kept his eyes on the screen but his head was considering the man beside him. Or not considering. Well, not in that way. 

"I'm alright. You've got to take care of yourself as well."

Danny just waved a hand half-heartedly at Steve's words. He felt the sofa sag with the depth of Steve's sigh, then with a wince, Steve lifted his arm over the back of the couch and behind Danny's head. Not really knowing what he was doing, he leaned into the space left behind and his head fell onto Steve's shoulder. 

Steve's hand stroked in the back of Danny's hair and then fell around his neck, fingers playing idly with the collar of Danny's shirt.

"Fine," Danny said, giving in. "I'll take a nap but only a short one. Wake me in half an hour."

"Sure," Steve said.

Danny didn't even mind that Steve was topless, nor that he'd had nothing more than wipe downs and a sponge to wash with in the last 24 hours. The fact that his head was practically in Steve's arm pit didn't matter, and it wasn't that he smelled bad, or sweaty. He did. A little. But it was fine. Because Steve was alive, so he was allowed to smell however he wanted to smell, so long as it wasn't of decay, Danny was perfectly happy. He brought a hand up to clutch at Steve's wrist where it was dangling over his chest, and ran his thumb over the pulse point until he drifted off.


	3. Chapter 3

When Danny woke, it wasn't natural. His head was being bumped around the place and it gave him no choice. He was confused at first, noticing straight away that he was lying on the couch, pinned to the inside of it with Steve on the outside. Somehow they'd moved to be lying properly on it and he'd not even noticed and there's no way Steve would have managed to move them carefully, without waking Danny, and not struggled to do so. 

Steve. He was the one who had woken Danny. Because he was sleeping too, but it was fitful. He was upset. He was having a nightmare.

"Steve?" Danny tried. "Hey, Steve," he got to his knees, one leg thrown between Steve's as he rose higher above him and took Steve's face in his hands. "Babe, come on, wake up."

"No, No, I don't know," Steve spoke out loud, his head shifting from side to side and Danny tried to keep it still, feeling the heat and the sweat.

"Steve? It's Danny, come on, wake up for me," he tried again, louder, more insistent. 

Steve screwed his face up and choked on a sob, he was going red as he tensed up, his breathing erratic. He wasn't opening his eyes properly, but there was some moisture there and he kept his eyes screwed tight as he ground out a plaintive, "Danny."

"Right here. You're alright."

Steve surged up, clutched his arms around Danny and buried his face in his neck. Danny's hand came to the back of Steve's neck, rubbing gently but aware not to go too near the spot they'd found puncture marks. 

They stayed that way for long minutes, Danny quietly murmuring the occasional 'You're alright' and 'I've got you,' to try and keep Steve calm and grounded. He eventually had to move. Kneeling over Steve like this was cutting off his blood flow and he could feel his lower legs going a little numb already. He shifted, trying to get relief and Steve pulled back just enough to move his head closer to Danny. An abortive move put his lips impossibly close, their noses bumped and Steve's forehead pressed close to Danny's. 

Danny licked his lips. "You want to talk about it?"

"I expected the nightmares," he said, unwilling to move away, a hand coming up Danny's shoulder and into his neck.

"Expecting them and coping with them are two different things," Danny pointed out, being the one to finally pull away enough to see Steve's eyes, ducking his head a little to get their attention.

"It just takes time, is all. My mind has to process things. Now the drugs have worn off."

"Steve," Danny tried again, hoping to convince him to talk to him. "You know you can talk to me about this. I already know everything about you, including all the annoying things so whatever happened to you, if you think it'll change anything, it won't. Okay?"

"Everything about me, huh?" Steve asked, eyes soft again in that way Danny refused to analyze. Steve's eyes drifted down to Danny's lips, still close, and then flicked back to his eyes.

"I'm confident," Danny responded. 

Steve's hand on Danny's neck changed. It loosened, turned into a caress then massaged into his hairline. "Did you know about this?" he asked, then leaned in, eyes down again as his lips pressed against Danny's. The touch was chaste, light, testing, but filled with hope and promise and desire. Desire to do more, hope that Danny understood. And he did. He understood everything clearly no matter how much he cast it aside and ignored it and tried not to think about it. 

"Yeah," Danny breathed out, not willing to break the spell; the palpable feeling in the air between them. "I think I did."

Steve smiled then leaned in for another kiss. Their lips had barely brushed against each other when Danny pulled back. 

"Wait, wait. Now is a terrible time, babe. You're hurt."

"Exactly," Steve said, his grip at the back of Danny's neck still tight. "Every time something happens I tell myself it's time to stop being a coward and tell you what I want and then I still don't do anything. Not this time. Okay? Wo Fat is dead. The reason I came home, the reason I thought I stayed, it's gone. I lay in that hospital bed and I thought about it, I thought if it's all solved I could go back to the Navy, like I'd originally planned to when I came home for dad's funeral. But I can't. I can't do it."

"You're rambling, Steven."

"Look, in my hallucination, the dream you, he asked me to stay. We killed Wo Fat there, just like I'd originally planned when coming home, thinking sorting everything with Victor Hesse and whoever helped him would be a quick Op then I'd be back with the Navy waiting on a new assignment. And you asked me to stay and I, I said no. I said I was leaving." Steve scrambled to sit up, displacing Danny further back on the couch but he seemed reluctant to let go of Danny, no matter if his wounds were hurting him or not. "It didn't feel right. Not even there, where it should have. It was wrong and when I realized that, I fell out of that world and back into the real one."

"I'm pretty sure that was a cattle prod or something," Danny argued. 

"No. No, it wasn't. It was my mind telling me that there was a reason you guided me through that world. A reason you were the one I cast to do everything over there. To save my dad, to break Victor, to get me the name of Wo Fat and to find out where he was hiding. And to help me take him down."

"I did all that, huh? Maybe dream world me isn't so bad after all. Despite the horrific choice of clothing."

Steve cupped Danny's face in his hands. "You occupy my thoughts the majority of the time anyway. Why would a dream world be any different?"

Danny gave a tentative smile and leaned into Steve's touch. "Steve-"

"I want this, Danny. And I'm not stupid, I know you want it, too. We've waited long enough."

"Okay," Danny groaned. "Okay, we can do this but not until you're better."

"Danny-" Steve moaned. 

"I mean it," Danny said, bringing a hand up between them. "We survived this long etc. No pun intended."

"Fine, nothing strenuous," Steve agreed. "Making out isn't strenuous." He smiled into the next kiss, more confident in Danny's response, his need and his want. The kisses were more open, but still slow and exploratory as they tasted each other for the first time, finally feeling like they were satisfying the thrum that ran between them constantly, the magnetizing force that pulled them together.

Steve's fingers began to pop the buttons on his shirt and he spoke into Danny's mouth. "My shirt's gone, it's only fair that yours is, too." He let go of Danny's lips long enough to help him take it off and untangle the sleeves from his hands. "And take your belt off as well, it's been digging into my side all afternoon."

"I told you to wake me after half an hour, instead you repositioned us to be more comfortable lying squeezed up on this couch."

Steve shrugged. "You looked nice sleeping on top of me. I was enjoying it."

"Uh-huh," Danny rolled his eyes. He made Steve lie down again and switched the positions they'd been in before Steve's nightmare, with him propped up more in the corner of the couch and Steve on the inside, head against Danny's chest. He stretched to reach for the remote that was lying on the coffee table as his other hand carded through Steve's hair.

"Are you going to work tomorrow?" Steve asked.

Danny hadn't given it much thought. He hadn't even really paid attention to the fact that he'd clearly taken today off to take care of Steve, nor had he thought about how long he should take off for the task. "I probably should or the Governor might ask questions. Can't leave everything to the others, that's not exactly fair. And I've already taken quite a bit of time off lately."

Steve's hand squeezed Danny's hip. "That was different."

"Still," Danny waved off, not wanting to get maudlin about his brother, his mind had already gone there last night while watching Steve sleep and how close he'd come to losing Steve before getting there. "I should go in."

"I'll come, too," Steve said. "Even if all I do is sit on the couch in my office and play Candy Crush on my phone. I'll come in with you."

Danny was going to argue, should argue, but couldn't bring himself to do it. "Fine. But let it be known I'm only allowing you to do so because I'm not letting you out of my sight again for at least ten years. Bad things happen when you're left on your own. Not all of it is your fault, I'll grant you that."

"Good," Steve said agreeably. "We can tell the guys."

"Tell them what?"

"That you and I going to be even more inseparable now."

"Ah," Danny nodded and planted a kiss in Steve's hair as the other man fidgeted on his chest. "Well, I guess that part's true."

"Let's just focus on this and not on… anything else."

"I can do that," Danny squeezed Steve's shoulder. "That's the kind of unhealthy coping mechanism I can get behind."

"Whatever works, right?"

"Just promise me that you'll talk about it when you need to. Even if it's not with me."

"Okay, Danno."

"What did I tell you about that? Repeatedly, for over four years?"

"But you ask- wait…"

Danny groaned. "You're kidding me. The hallucination? Dream me? He liked it didn't he. I bet he let everyone and their grandmother call him 'Danno'."

"That's what he said. But to be honest, I didn't hear anyone else call him- you- that, but you did ask me to. You liked it when I did."

"Uh-huh."

"You've told me before that you liked it, it's not that far-fetched."

"Sarcasm, I'm sure."

"No, it wasn't."

"Shut up and watch McGyver diffuse this bomb," Danny finished, pointing at the television where Sang Min's hair inspiration was getting himself out of a sticky situation.


End file.
